Radharani and Tilak
Jun 11th, 2008
Q. Why Radharani does not wear tilak? The question is on behalf of my friend. My explanation was that tilak comes from lake where gopies gave up their bodies and go back to join Krishna in Spiritual Dham. It is the dust of all gopies. But she does not seem to be satisfied with my answer. Can you help? – Tungabhadra d.d
A. Traditionally Indian women wore bindis on their foreheads, not the Gaudiya Vaisnava tilaka that we see today. That’s why we see Radharani and other deities of gopis not having the regular tilaka. Modern women do not put anything on their forehead. That’s probably the reason why Prabhupada told ISKCON women to wear the regular tilaka in order to distinguish them from others.
Another reason: It’s Her personal choice.